| Kieran's Great Matter Written by CharlieWoodsNotebook on Tuesday, 2nd Jan 2024 12:24 Five hundred years ago, Henry the VIII decided he wanted to divorce Catherine of Aragon to wed Anne Boleyn. How to achieve this became his “Great Matter”. Now Kieran McKenna has his own Great Matter – the replacement of George Hirst. Here I list six options he will be considering. I add the proviso that I obviously don’t know the health and fitness of the players mentioned in this analysis. 1. Freddie Ladapo The case for: Of the existing squad, Freddie is by far the nearest like-for-like replacement for George. He knows the role and system. The squad knows him. The case against: I’m not the biggest Freddie fan but for all his limitations (speed, one-on-ones, energy, consistency) I do feel for him. Goalless at ten-man Stoke, Jackson withdrawn through injury, and still McKenna refrains from giving him time on the grass. If he doesn’t start now, his role at Ipswich may feel so periphery he might as well be training on a satellite. The truth is that, while best built to offer a seamless continuation, he is an inferior replacement for Hirst; something McKenna has known since before Hirst’s arrival. 2. Kayden Jackson The case for: pace and work-rate are Kayden’s USPs. I suspect he is the fastest player in the Championship, although he may have lost a few split seconds since his groin strain a while back. One of Hirst’s (many) qualities is his ability and willing to run down a defence for 70-plus minutes. Jackson does this longer and faster which adds 10% to the effectiveness of Town’s all important press. Against speed like Jackson’s, defenders either stand close to or stand off their man. Either way, this creates more space for those around him. The case against: Kayden is not a born goalscorer. What he gains in time over the ground is often lost in anticipation inside the box. His hold-up play is inferior and there is something frustrating about his failure to find occasions to run along the backline and capitalise on his speed in the space behind. Neither he nor McKenna seem to know his best position. Jackson of all trades, perhaps, master of none, probably. 3. Nathan Broadhead The case for: Broadhead knows how to find the net and has better vision and feet than Hirst as well as that of the first two candidates. He has played this role with some success – most notably at Sunderland. He can control the ball and spot passes – his footballing brain, at least the attacking hemisphere, is fast. The case against: The solo striker position looks to fit like a pair of second-hand boots – worn to shape somebody else’s feet. McKenna has made Broadhead an excellent and better player, in part by giving him the opportunity to learn and master a left-hand attack role that builds on his strongest qualities. Broadhead is at his best facing goal with the ball at his feet. Wizard, not warrior. Physically, I suspect he is the weakest player in McKenna’s squad, making him an unconvincing swap for perhaps our strongest. I doubt he could play consecutive games in this role and, if Hirst is a Pterodactyl, Broadhead has the aerial threat of an Ostrich. 4. Wes Burns The case for: A left-field option but we know he can score (nine goals last season and 13 in 2021/22). Burns has damaging pace and never gets bullied – next to Hirst and maybe Burgess, he would be my third pick from our squad to be on my side in a bar fight. Leaving the right attacking role would not necessarily weaken us as we have ample replacements. The case against: Wes has no track record or training in this role (as far as I know). Like Broadhead, he prefers facing the opposition than holding them off. Nor do I envisage Burns running so enthusiastically from centre-back to keeper and then to the other centre-back as Hirst does – but perhaps this is because he has never been asked to. 5. The False Nine The case for: Hirst is irreplaceable. Teams are sussing out our current approach anyway. Change it. Play any four of Chaplin, Broadhead, Burns, Hutchinson, Jackson and even Harness. Don’t ask any to advance but encourage mobility and transition. Alternatively play any three of these and create space for a third midfielder (Taylor or Humphreys) to form a 4-3-3. When McKenna first arrived, he was asked about formations and responded saying that formations were not very significant to him – what mattered were the individual roles and shapes formed by interactions. McKenna knows the second half of this season is going to be harder. To get near the points needed for automatic promotion we are going to have to spring some new tricks. Now may be the time. The case against: Like so many pundits, we can all see the advantage we have from having a squad, a team and a system that has been in place for most of two years. We are hitting a tricky spell. Asking players to change system as well as personnel may at best take time and at worst backfire. 6. The New Face The case for: We know Hirst’s contribution is one of the hardest roles to replace in our line-up. The above analysis points to the likelihood that all of these options result in a less favourable return. We need somebody else; a striker who has the physical and technical qualities that Hirst has. If we don’t invest now, our season will slip away. The case against: McKenna has spoken often about the time it takes to learn this role. We have born witness to this as we have watched Hirst improve. There is no quick fix. Strikers are the most sought-after commodity at this level. For most of us the preferred solution to Kieran's Great Matter is to buy a better striker. Realistically, it’s inevitable that we will have to pay over the odds for someone better than George. Sure, strengthen the squad for the long term but don't expect an overnight fix. Unless we know are getting someone better than George, we should cash in on the squad’s togetherness and belief and not destroy it. All season we have heard that each member of the squad will have a role to play. We have heard it and the squad have heard it and trusted it. Now we must trust them. Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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